Upward Unlimited

“Form 990 is prepared by an independent CPA firm and reviewed in detail by Upward top management. The return is then forwarded to the audit committee for review and approval. The reviewed Form 990 is also forwarded to the Board of Directors prior to filing.”

“Upward's conflict of interest policy is reviewed and approved annually. All Board members, officers, and VPs are required to agree to and sign the policy annually. The Board of Directors review the annually signed statements. The policy is detailed in the team member guidebook, which every employee is required to read and indicate by signature that he/she understand the policy. If a conflict were to arise, the individual would abstain from voting.”

“Upward's non-salaried Board of Directors works with an independent third party to ensure reasonable compensation of Upward employees. This Firm also conducts a bi-annual compensation analysis, comparing Upward officers' compensation to similar organizations, and recommends to the Board annual compensation for all officers. This process is documented in executive session Board minutes. During the Board's compensation discussion and vote, no employee, including the President or family member of any employee, is present. The compensation vote is documented in the Board minutes upon approval.”

“The organization's audited financial statements are made available to the public on Upward's website at www.upward.org. The governing documents and conflict of interest policy are made available upon request.”

“Compensation reported in Part VII, column D and Schedule J, Part II, column B is the amount reported on the individual's W-2, box 1 or 5 (whichever amount is greater) per the IRS instructions. In the case of minister's compensation when box 5 of the W-2 is not applicable, box 1 compensation is used. Employee deferrals to qualified retirement plans are normally captured in box 5, not box 1 of Form W-2. For reporting purposes we have included the employee's retirement plan deferrals in Part VII, column F and Schedule J, Part II, column C.”

“Program sales revenue is reported net of cost of goods sold to inform the Form 990 reader of the expenses directly related to the activity. Consequently, revenue on Part VIII and program expenses on Part IX is understated to reflect this reporting. If cost of goods sold were removed from Part VIII, Line 10b, gross revenue would increase by $9,129,187 and reported separately on Part IX, Line 25- program expenses would increase by $9,129,187. Additionally, the percentage of program service expenses to total expenses reported on Part IX, Line 25 would be 83.70%.”

“During the tax year, Upward Sports created an Upward Star Center Division. The Upward Star Center sports complex, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, serves as a living laboratory to test and model new sports and concepts. The primary function of this division is to provide a world-class sports complex using the Gospel of Christ behind every sports program. The Star Center is designed to develop Christian leaders, coaches, referees and partners to deliver the ultimate sports experience, while also being a training ground to help young athletes get better.”

“Though not required by law to have a financial audit, the Upward Board chooses to conduct an annual audit. Further, the organization has an audit committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit of its financial statements and selection of its independent accountant. This process has not changed since the prior year.”